


The Mix Up

by WhimsyNeptune



Category: Once Upon a Time (TV)
Genre: Angst, Angst and Hurt/Comfort, Eventual Happy Ending, Extremely Heavy Angst, F/F, Heartbreak, Misunderstandings, Unwanted Break Up
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-01-08
Updated: 2017-07-17
Packaged: 2018-11-29 08:33:24
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 7
Words: 12,937
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11437113
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/WhimsyNeptune/pseuds/WhimsyNeptune
Summary: She grabbed some ibuprofen and a glass of water for her hangover, and then came back to her desk. The mayor read the letter one more time, chastising herself for being so vile. She folded up the repugnant note, and put it in the bottom left drawer of her desk, to be forever forgotten.Which later on in life, would prove to be a huge problem.





	1. Chapter 1

**July 28th, 2012**

_Regina drunkenly sat down at her desk with a rage she hadn't felt in years. She was furious. "HOW DARE THAT BITCH CUT DOWN MY APPLE TREE!" She growled._

_She sat down at her desk with a huff. Opened her email and drafted a letter telling the birth mother of her son just exactly what she thought of her._

_She printed it off and smiled wickedly. "This'll put you in your place, Swan."_

_The next morning Regina awoke with her head laying on a piece of paper on her study desk. She looked down, read it, and winced at how vile the words were. She grabbed some ibuprofen and a glass of water for her hangover, and then came back to her desk. The mayor read the letter one more time, chastising herself for being so vile. She folded up the repugnant note, and put it in the bottom left drawer of her desk, to be forever forgotten._

_Which later on in life, would prove to be a huge problem._

 

**Present Day**

Regina sat at her booth in Granny's waiting for Emma to meet her for their lunch date. They had been dating for just under three years. Once Regina decided to get over herself and admit that she had feelings for the blonde shortly after the Apple Tree incident, she and Emma agreed to a truce, which led to a friendship shortly after that, and then that friendship blossomed into something much more than Regina ever hoped for. She had dreamed of it, yes. Longed for it even, but she had never expected to actually have the blonde want it as well. So when The Sheriff came up to her in her office one day and asked The Mayor on a date, she was pleasantly shocked and ecstatic.

When she heard the door open, and the bell chime, she looked up at the blonde and smiled as she walked over to meet her girlfriend at the booth she already occupied. "Took you long enough, dear." She said jokingly.

Emma furrowed her brows and looked at her wristwatch. "Babe, I'm literally ten minutes early."

Regina chuckled. "Try twenty minutes late, darling."

Emma's confused expression eased, and embarrassment stretched across her beautiful face. "We were supposed to meet at noon, and I wrote down twelve-thirty again, didn't I?"

The Mayor laughed. She loved this chaotic, and unorganized woman more than she ever thought possible. "That seems to be the case."

Emma reached across the table and grabbed Regina's hand. "Regina, I'm so sorry. I need to be better at keeping track of things."

"Darling, we all know that's just one of your quirks," Regina said lovingly. "And I would never ask you to change."

Emma leaned over the table and connected their lips. "I love you." She said after they finally separated.

Regina smiled. "I love you too, Emma."

After lunch, Regina and Emma walked hand-in-hand down Main Street on the way back to their jobs. Emma's stop was first. She let go of the Mayor's hand, kissed Regina on the lips, and said goodbye.

Regina then walked the rest of the way to the mayoral office and began to think. She sat in her chair; she soon decided then and there that she was going to propose within the next few months.

**XXX**

It had been three months and Regina finally had everything set up, she had flowers, candles, and a romantic poem all ready for tonight. She knew that she had been overly distant with Emma for the last few weeks due to being nervous for the evening's events. They also had just gotten into a fight about Henry's sleeping schedule earlier that morning, ultimately both women were right, but Regina just couldn't handle the fact that she was wrong and right. She just wanted to be right, so she started a fight. She hoped that tonight would go perfectly though because she was going to apologize for her recent behavior, have a romantic dinner, and then finally pop the question, but first she had to plant the note she had written for Emma just last night.

The note consisted of a simple declaration of how much she loved the blonde, and then a time and location with instructions to just dress casually. She hoped it would be enough to ease Emma's mood into a happier one than when she had left her this morning.

Emma was supposed to be on patrol at the moment, so Regina opened the bottom left drawer of her study desk, and grabbed the folded up letter she had written, and put into a red envelope. She licked the sticky adhesive and made sure that every inch of it was sealed all the way, and then poofed herself to Emma's office, She laid the envelope in the middle of the sheriff's desk, and left without any further thought.

Emma came into her office after her patrol and sat down at her desk. She sat down and sighed. She was sure now that Regina was having second thoughts about their relationship. She'd been distant, and they barely kissed, let alone anything beyond. She sighed as she fought back the tears… She just didn't understand why she was never enough. Not enough for Neal, that's why he abandoned her. Not enough for her parents, they always were trying to turn her into their minion, and now she was clearly not enough for Regina anymore… she wouldn't be the one to break them up, though. She would make Regina do that, because Emma wanted to fight, and she _would_ fight until Regina gave her no choice but to give up. She loved that woman so deeply, and so purely that the thought of losing her killed the blonde.

She huffed as she unstrapped her holster, and laid it on the desk. _Why am I so hard to love?_ She thought to herself. Just then she noticed a red envelope, and opened it. She unfolded the letter, and began to read:

_Miss Swan,_

_The moment I met you I knew that I would feel nothing but hatred toward you._

_You dress like an idiot, you have no class, and you have the elegance of a mentally ill squirrel. You say you stayed in Storybrooke to make sure Henry was okay? Well he was, and still is. He has lived a fulfilling life without you, and he didn't need you then, nor does he need you now._

_I decided the moment that I realized you were planning on sticking around, that I would do anything to not have to give up my time with Henry. You don't deserve him, Emma. You are not the type of mother that he needs. He needs a reliable, dependable, and mature mother. A mother that wouldn't even dream of giving him up, and that's what I am. You abandoned him, Miss Swan, and that is something I would never do. That boy is all I have in this world, and that boy is the only thing I will ever, and have ever cared about._

_I want you out of this town, and I don't want Henry to hear or see from you again. No one wants you hear. The only one that does is Henry, but he is too young to understand that you aren't good for him. He will just have to learn to accept this. He will be upset, but I have been enough for him before, and I guarantee you that I will be good enough for him once more. He doesn't need you, and deep down I can certainly tell that he regrets finding you._

_Leave Emma, just go before you do damage that can not be repaired._

_R. Mills_

Emma bit her tongue, trying to hold the tears that threatened to leave her emerald eyes. And that's when she couldn't hold them back. First, one small crystal bead escaped from her right eye. She could feel the warmth, sliding down her cheek, and rolling off her chin. Then another. And another. Until her eyes were flooded with them, coming like a rainfall. Sniffing every ten seconds, they fell, and fell, and she just let them. This was Regina giving her the reason to give up. This was enough. This was enough to make her no longer want to live, but she feared death too much. Regina never loved her. She always resented her. That fight about Henry's bedtime must've been the last straw for Regina… She'd been distant for weeks, probably thinking about how much she truly did hate Emma, and then finally snapped when she let Henry stay up an extra fifteen minutes to finish his homework.

Her hands were shaking as she took off her badge and laid it on top of the heartbreaking letter that she had just read from the woman that she loved. She scribbled an apology on the Envelope that it came in, and then exited the Sheriff station. If Regina wanted Emma to leave, if it was what was best for Henry, then she'd leave.

No matter how hard it was for her.

**XXX**

Regina was beyond worried. She had been waiting for three hours passed the time she asked Emma to meet her. Had her letter come off too strong? Had it kicked in Emma's instincts to run? Or worse yet, had Emma gotten hurt? Had she been in an accident? Surely she would've been informed of such a thing, right?

She was about to get her phone and call Emma for what must be the fiftieth time, when there was a knock at the door. Relief flooded through her body as she stood up to answer the door.

Once she opened it, she was struck, _hard_ in the face. Before she could even muster up a word, or begin to comprehend why she was being punched, she was hit again, and again, and again, until she had fallen on the ground; her nose, and lip bleeding. She finally looked up to see an _**extremely**_ pissed off Snow White, being held back by Prince Charming himself. "WHAT THE HELL HAVE YOU DONE!?" She screamed before going limp in her husband's arms and breaking out into a sobbing mess.

"Why am I so quick to be blamed for things? I haven't the slightest idea about what you're talking about." Regina snarled. She was beyond furious, she was just about to strike her former step-daughter back when Snow's next words stopped her dead in her tracks.

"You made us lose Emma all over again." The pixie-haired brunette cried.

Regina's heart fell to the floor. "What do you mean?" She asked, while trying to hide the terror in her voice.

"YOU KNOW WHAT I MEAN, REGINA!" Snow screamed. "Why would she not leave after everything you wrote her in that note?" The woman was sobbing again.

Regina was beyond confused. How was a romantic, and heartfelt declaration of love, anything but positive? Had she missed something? Some sign that Emma hadn't wanted her lovey dovey attention at the moment? "I-I don't understand. I never intended to push her away. I love her, with everything I've got. Where is she?" She asked with a shaky voice.

"We don't know. The last time I saw her was when we switched shifts this morning. She seemed fine, a little down, but nothing that made me suspect she would leave. But when I came in to switch shifts with her again, she was gone. Her badge, gun, holster, and this letter and envelope were all that was there." David said accusingly and giving her a death glare. He then handed Regina the letter and envelope.

Regina furrowed her brows as she took the offered items. She then felt guilt, horror, and pain course through her entire body as she read the note. She then read the scribbled words on the envelope:

_I'm sorry. You'll never have to see my face again._

_Goodbye,_

_E. Swan_

"No!" Regina cried out in a broken voice. "I have to find her! This was all a misunderstanding, I swear! This wasn't the letter that I meant to give to her! I was planning on proposing to her tonight!" She was crying harder than Snow now. "I have to find her!"

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Just to warn the Anti-Emma association. This is not one of those fics, nor is it an Anti-Regina Fic. If you expect the blame to be shared in this story, you should just stop reading now. I am only going to blame the person who is actually at fault, here. I'm getting so sick of these people who expect it to be all shared when only one person is truly to blame, now, I'm not going to tell you who it is that I believe to be at fault right here, but if you would have a problem with that then please stop reading. I love swan queen, but the amount of hatred in the fandom has escalated to the highest I've ever seen since the end of season six. I don't play favorites between the two women, whoever screws up in my fics, has to suffer the consequences, whether it be Emma, Regina, or anyone else.


	2. Chapter 2

Regina was hurriedly packing when Henry came through the door. He stood there with the paper that caused Emma to leave in his hand while he glared at his adoptive mother. "How could you?!" He cried.

Regina's heart clenched in her chest. Her baby boy thought that she had used his beloved birth mother as a toy just to get to keep him. She turned around and walked over towards him, she tried to place a hand on his shoulder, but he yanked back from her, which broke Regina's heart that much more. "Henry," She whimpered. "I swear, sweetheart, it isn't what it sounds like. I didn't mean to give her that note, I forgot all about it. I wrote that letter _years_ ago, sweetie. I never intended to hurt your mother."

Henry shook his head. "I don't believe you. You tricked us! You made us think that we were happy and that you weren't Evil! You just got caught, and now you're trying to backpedal! I hate you!"

Regina's heart broke even more. She had to find Emma, and fix this before everything else fell apart. She had already asked Snow and Charming for a list of all the places that Emma had ever mentioned that felt like home. She knew this was going to be one hell of a journey. The Mayor knew that it was unlikely to find her, but she had to do it. She couldn't live without Emma. Henry was her smile, but Emma was her heart. Henry made her happier than she had been before she found him, but Emma completed that happiness. She had to find her. One day Henry would go off to college and find a place in the real world, but Emma… Emma could be with her forever if Regina fixed this misunderstanding. Emma could be her happy ending. She _wanted_ Emma to be her happy Ending. She had to fix this. "Henry, I'm going to find her, I swear."

Henry scoffed. "She won't fall for your lies again. You just expected her to leave without a word, but she left the letter behind, and your plan was foiled. That's the only reason you're going after her." Henry was hurt, and Regina understood that, but that didn't make Henry's words hurt any less. Before the boy left, he said two final heartbreaking sentences. "If you don't find her, just don't come back. This is all your fault."

Regina felt so much heartache and guilt that she didn't know how to handle it. It was threatening to consume her mind, but she couldn't let it. She had to find a way to fight its strength in order to be strong enough to find Emma.

Remorseful.

Guilty.

That was how she felt at that very moment. She wished for a Time Turner so she could go back to rectify the mistake - the worst of all she had done. However, she could not. It was just impossible. She had to live with it.

Remorse etched at her heart. Guilt gnawed like a worm at the core of an apple. A tear trickled down her cheek. She had to fix this... she _needed_ to fix this. Regina felt so much heartache and guilt that she didn't know how to handle it. It was threatening to consume her mind, but she couldn't let it. She had to find a way to fight it's strength so she could be strong enough to find Emma.

She wiped her tears away and finished packing her duffle bags. She wasn't quite sure how long she would be out on the road in search of Emma so she wanted to be prepared and she had emptied every drawer of her dresser into two bags and magicked up a debit card with an endless amount of money. She had to be prepared, and she had absolutely no intention of running out of money and having to return home without Emma by her side. It just wouldn't happen. She wouldn't let it.

As she walked downstairs, she headed to the kitchen where Snow White and David were arguing over what to do. As soon as they saw Regina, they immediately united as one and glared furiously at Regina. "I just came to say that I'm headed out to find her, and was wondering if you had finished the list of possible places she would be."

"Bring her back, Regina. That's not a request, either." David said as he handed her a page of places Emma had mentioned over the years.

Regina nodded. "I won't come back until I've found her and gotten her to agree to return with me."

"Good." Snow, David, and Henry all said in unison. Which killed Regina inside even more. She wasn't sure what would happen if she didn't find Emma soon, but she was sure that she wouldn't stop until the end of time to find her.

**XXX**

Regina had searched eighteen different cities across eight states. She'd been through many more states than just that, but she had stopped and searched in the towns where Emma had had either a foster family or where one of her foster sisters had a place. She'd been searching for seven weeks, and still, she hadn't gotten any closer to finding her blonde (ex?)girlfriend. The thought that Emma might not want to be with her haunted her, but she had to keep going

She only had three more places on the list to search, so she was on her way to Phoenix Arizona, which was where the infamous Lily now resided. She was over half way from Mankato which was where she had looked up Emma's previous family that considered adopting her, but they hadn't seen her since they put her back into the system, which was all due to Lily's lying. (At least that was what Henry had told her.) She then visited her other foster family that now resided just outside of Mankato; she had stopped by to give her foster-brother a teddy bear that she had accidentally taken when she had moved out all those years ago. Emma had said that she had always felt sorry for taking it and had promised to herself that as soon as she got the chance, she would return it, so she did.

Regina had asked if Emma had said where she was headed before she left, but none of them had said, which left Regina at square one. So, off Regina went to look for her beloved Sheriff in Phoenix Arizona.

She stopped for the night in Kit Carson, Colorado which was the halfway point between Mankato and Phoenix. She found a nice enough hotel called Cobblestone Inn ordered a room for the night, and for the hell of it was sitting down in the hotel bar showing Emma's picture to everyone she saw. She had so far had no luck. After an hour the place was full, and no one had seen the one and only Emma Swan.

Regina stayed in the bar for another few hours. She knew that there was almost a 0% chance that she was going to find someone who had seen Emma recently, but she was desperate to know if she was heading in the right direction, and if someone had seen Emma, then she was most definitely headed to the correct destination. (If she was still there.)

Regina was just about to leave when she noticed that the bartenders were switching shifts. She decided to give it one last shot and headed over to the long haired dirty-blonde woman. "Excuse me," Regina said politely.

The bartender turned around to face her with a cheeky smile on her face. "What would you like?" She asked.

Regina pulled out her purse and took a picture of Emma out of her wallet. She raised it up to show the other woman. "I would like to find her. If you could help with that, it'd be marvelous."

The dirty-blonde frowned. "Yeah, I've seen her…" She said sadly. Regina beamed until the younger woman continued to speak. "I kept making passes at her. Eventually, we went out back. We started making out, but then she started crying. At first, I thought I had hurt her, so I began to button up my shirt, but when I asked if she needed a doctor or something, she said it wasn't me that hurt her. Apparently, her bitch of an ex, wrote some nasty letter, saying how much she hated her and how she wasn't what anyone wanted… Hell.. if she fucks as half as good as she kisses, _anyone_ would want her." Regina's heart sank to the floor… Emma is kissing other people… Emma. Her Emma was completely and utterly broken. All because of Regina's imbecilic drunken rage… She needed to fix this not only because Emma was hurting for no reason, but because Regina couldn't handle the thought of Emma's lips pressed against anyone else's but Regina's. Both scenarios cut her in two.

"D-did she say where she was headed?" Regina mentally cursed herself for sounding so vulnerable.

The bartender looked at her and raised an amused brow. "You're her, aren't you? You're the bitch of an ex."

Regina gulped as she nodded. "Yes. But it was a total misunderstanding. I wrote the note I gave her three years ago when I was drunk and pining for her, I had no idea that that was the one I put in the envelope, I had forgotten all about it. I swear, I love Emma to death... She completes me. She is my happiness. I've been searching for seven weeks and four days straight. I haven't been home, and I just want to find my girlfriend!" Regina was crying at the end of her monolog, and the bartender poured her a small glass of wine.

"Look, darlin'. All I know is this. She and I got to second base, and then she had a mental breakdown because of you. You broke that poor, sexy woman's, heart. If you aren't 100% sure that you won't make everything worse by showing up at her door, then just don't go after her. Just turn around and go back to whatever town it is that you came from. However if you do find her and she ends up turning you down, tell her to call me because I'd like to finish what we started." She said with a wink.

Regina felt nauseous. The woman in front of her had touched Emma in a way that only she had for the past three years. That woman had… _kissed_ the woman that Regina was in love with. The brunette felt jealousy and possessiveness overcome her. She walked up to the bartender, feeling like a wild beast pulling against its leash, and pointed a nail filer she took from her purse to the dirty blonde's chin, "She's mine." The mayor told her, with anger dripping from her words. "I was there for all her troubles. I was there when she was sad because her first love and the father of our child died. I was there for her when she was angry or hurt by the insults her mother threw at her daily because she wasn't 'princessy' enough. I was there, by her side, helping and celebrating with her. I. Will. Not. Allow. You - a person who's only known her for one night -to take her away from me. She. Is. _**Mine**_."

The bartender raised her hands in surrender as she chuckled. "Well, according to her she's available, and her word is more important than yours, so if she ever wants to call my number, my bed is always open to her. Anyway, she said she was going to stop by an old friend's in Arizona and then head to the place she was supposed to start a family with some guy named Neal, but that was two weeks ago. Haven't seen her since."

Regina felt rage creep up her body, but she couldn't let it overcome her. She nodded once to show that she understood where her.. _Ex_ -girlfriend -God that word hut.- was going, and left with tear filled eyes.

She reached her room, washed her face, brushed her teeth and put on pajamas before turning off the light and flopping into the full-sized bed. "Emma, my love, I will find you."


	3. Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I know that this is short, but people were begging me to upload faster, and this is all I've gotten so far... I hope you aren't too horribly disappointed...

As Regina finally pulled into the driveway of Lily's house, she began to panic. Would this come back to slap her in the face? Was this a mistake? Was Emma even here? She hurried and shook herself out of her insecurities and began to walk to the front porch. Once she reached the door, she took a deep, shaky breath, and knocked.

She heard footsteps inside the house before the door opened to see the younger brunette standing there in a tank top, and short shorts. Lily chuckled in disbelief and shook her head. "Of course you'd come. Just as soon as she's getting over you, and you come around just to fuck her up again. What the hell do we have to do to escape you assholes? You all ruined us, and then you just waltz back into our lives and expect an apology to fix everything that you've done to the two of us. Get the hell off of my property before I call the police."

Regina's heart shattered. Emma was getting over her. That knowledge alone made Regina nauseated, and she bent over the edge of the porch and threw up violently. She stood up and wiped her mouth off with a kleenex she grabbed from her purse and threw a few tic-tacs in her mouth before turning to face the disgusted brunette that stood inside the door. "Please, just listen to me for a few seconds. That note was never supposed to reach Emma. I swear to God that it wasn't. I was tired and nervous, and I grabbed a letter that I had written over three years ago. I grabbed the wrong letter, you see? The real letter was a romantic poem and a time and place for a date night. Please, is she here? I just need to explain that to her."

Lily rolled her eyes. "No, she's not here. She's on a bail bonding assignment to scrape up enough money to get us to where we actually want to go. I have half the cash, but we still need about 2,000 more to settle in comfortably."

Regina frowned. "Where exactly are you planning on going? Do you know where she is right now so that I can talk to her?"

"Of course I know where she is, but I'm not telling you anything. If you want to fix the mess that you created, so terribly you can sit in your stupid Mercedes, and wait. But not on my property."

Regina was about to ask Lily one more time to let her know where Emma was when the door slammed in her face. Regina sighed sadly… She was losing her true love all because of one stupid drunken mistake…


	4. Chapter 4

It had been five hours since the conversation between Regina and Lily, and Regina couldn't get the younger woman's words out of her mind. Regina had to admit that every single problem that the two women had was her fault. If Regina had just accepted that Snow White was too young to understand that telling Cora about Daniel and that she hadn't meant to hurt her, then they would never have suffered the way that they had.

Regina was about to start on a tirade of reasons why Regina didn't deserve Emma when a familiar yellow Volkswagen Beetle pulled up into the driveway that her Mercedes had previously occupied, and just seconds later, the familiar blonde haired angel exited the compact car.

She felt her heart begin to pound as the only thing that consumes her thoughts was Emma:

_Go to Emma._

_Hug Emma._

_Love Emma._

_Win Emma back._

_**Kiss** Emma._

She jumped out of her seat and didn't even bother to close the door. SHe ran across the street and up to the porch just in time to catch Emma from entering the house. "Emma!" She shouted from in front of the front steps.

Emma froze. She slowly turned around and saw the woman that had broken her. The woman that hated her even though Emma had loved her deeply. She wanted to do something. _ANYTHING_ to make Regina think that this wasn't as hard on her as it truly was because the gorgeous brunette only did this to hurt her. Just as she was about to speak, the screen door opened to reveal her long time friend. She turned around to face her and looked pleadingly at the formerly orphaned girl as well.

Lily smiled, and as if it was completely normal she wrapped Emma up in her arms and smiled flirtatiously at her. "Hey, baby. I was beginning to think you weren't coming home tonight." She finished speaking and crashed her lips into Emma's.

Emma was shocked. This wasn't like Lily; she had never hit on Emma in her life. She knew what her best friend was doing, though so she played along and began to kiss the young dragon back.

Regina felt like she had the breath knocked out of her lungs. Tears began to stream down her face as she watched the daughter of her ex-best friend make out with the woman she was in love with. She couldn't handle this. Her world was caving in around her, the noises of the night faded out, and all she could see was red. She ran up to the porch and pulled Lily off of Emma. Regina's Emma. "GET THE FUCK OFF OF MY GIRLFRIEND!" She screamed at the younger brunette. She was about to punch the woman that was now lying on the ground when she felt a familiar grip on her arm. She froze. "Emma, baby, please. Just let me explain."

Regina felt her arm be released as she watched the woman she loved, pick up her… girlfriend? Regina whimpered in anguish at the thought. "Emma." She whispered. "Please."

Emma turned to the woman that broke her. "I owe you nothing."

Regina nodded. "I know. Believe me, I know. But, please… Emmy Bear I-"

"DON'T." Emma cried. She didn't want to hear the sweet pet-name that Regina had given her on their fifth date. Regina had no right to call her that any longer, and it hurt to be reminded of it. "Just… Don't, please."

Regina swallowed the lump in her throat and tried her hardest to ignore the dolor she felt in her heart. "Please, that note was never supposed to get to you."

Emma scoffed. "Really? Then how exactly did it end up in an envelope on my desk with my name written in your handwriting on it?"

"Baby, Emma..I wrote that letter three years ago. Right after you cut down my tree. Remember that?" Regina asked exasperatedly.

"You mean to tell me that you hated me two weeks before you told me you were in love with me? Two weeks before we became friends? Only two months before our first date? How does that even make any sense? How did you go from hating my guts and wanting me gone to being in love with me within fourteen days?"

"Emma, I was drunk and upset, and I thought you were going to take Henry from me. I was just scared. I never thought I would get the chance to be with you. I never thought that you could even want to be friends with me, let alone love me some day… So I was hurt and angry and drunk. I wrote it in a drunken rage." Regina explained with tears in her eyes.

The blonde wanted to believe her. She wanted to forgive her ex-girlfriend, and go back to being a happy couple like before, but she couldn't. Things just weren't adding up to her. Why had Regina given her a letter at all? Why had Regina been so closed off, and distant the last few weeks of their relationship? Why had Regina picked so many fights with her during the last weeks as well? So she asked, and Regina stumbled for an answer.

"I-I. Emma, I wasn't acting that way because I wanted to leave, I swear on Henry's life that it wasn't. Please, just come home, and go on one date with me. Let me sweep you off your feet again. Then when I can see that you are comfortable with me again, I will show you why I had been acting so strangely." Regina pleaded as she held out her hand for Emma to take. She didn't want to ruin the proposal. She wanted it to be magical, not tainted by Regina's idiocy, and the hurt and troubles that were currently going on.

Emma was tempted. She wanted nothing more than to try, but her heart had been shattered too many times by trusting the wrong people when she thought that she should, and she couldn't take being hurt by Regina again. She shook her head. "No. You've hurt me enough."

Regina felt like her heart was just ripped out of her chest, and danced on right in front of her before being slammed back inside of her chest. "Please" She murmured in a plea.

Emma shook her head. "I can't trust you anymore. I want to, but I just can't. It doesn't make sense how you forgot that you had that note there for three years. How had you not come across it after three years? Plus, you told me two weeks later that you didn't actually hate me, you were just afraid to let me in, but that you were finally willing to try, yet that note was nothing but hatred on paper." She turned around and opened the screen door

Regina shook her head frantically. "No!" She yelled in horror. "Emma, please! I never hated you! I was angry, and then on top of it, I was drunk, which only makes my anger multiply by ten. You know this. You've experienced it first hand, and I suffered the consequences then too. After I woke up the next morning with a terrible hangover, I reread the letter. I hated myself for even being able to write something so cruel about you, and I put it away in the bottom drawer… You know? THe drawer that I never open because that was the drawer that I had kept Graham's heart in before you came to town? Please, you have to believe me."

At that last statement, the brunette who had been standing beside Emma and remained silent finally spoke up. "She doesn't have to do anything." Lily snarled.

Regina nodded. "Right. Of course not. I-"

"You need to leave. We're heading out first thing in the morning." Lily interrupted.

Regina broke inside just enough to be too weak to hold back her tears any longer. This was all Regina's fault. If she hadn't written that damned letter… If she had just been honest with Emma from the beginning. If she hadn't gotten drunk. None of this would be happening, and she would still have the love of her life. She fought back a sob and resigned herself to her fate of eternal heartbreak. She pulled out the letter that she had intended to give Emma on the night of the mix-up, and with shaky hands, she offered it to the blonde. "Th-this was the letter I wanted to give to you." She whispered.

Emma glared at the letter. She sighed, shook her head, and grabbed it from her ex-girlfriend's hand. "I might read it when I'm settled in."

Regina nodded through her tears. "I understand." She cried as she focused on her knee-high boots. "So, this is it? We're really over?" She asked sadly.

"We've been over from the start it seems. It was all just a game to you." Emma muttered brokenly.

Regina felt as if the world was trying to tear her to shreds. She nodded. This was what she got, she supposed. "Goodbye, my love." The Mayor whispered. She turned around and walked to her car. She got in it, and drove off, crying hot and wet tears.

As soon as Regina drove off, Emma collapsed onto the ground sobbing uncontrollably. It had taken everything in her not to go chasing after Regina, but she couldn't afford to be broken by Regina again. Because next time Regina hurt her, Emma wouldn't survive. She was barely surviving this time.


	5. Chapter 5

It had been a month since Lily and Emma had moved to Tallahassee. It had been thirty-four days since the night Regina had handed Emma that letter.

Emma and Lily were living in a two bedroom condo, Emma had a multitude of opportunities in the bail bondsman industry, and Lily was a bartender at a very upscale bar on the beach of Lake Lafayette. They barely saw each other, and when they did it was just briefly.

To be completely honest, Emma was absolutely miserable. She was still heartbroken over her breakup with Regina. She saw things, and it reminded her of the brunette. Like apple juice, high heels, pant suits, dresses, brunette women… women in general.

Everything.

 _Everything_ reminded her of Regina whether it was rational or not.

She huffed as she sat on her bed while going through a box of things that were still packed. She shuffled through it not finding anything interesting until she found the letter that Regina had handed to her. She picked it up and stared at it. She wasn't sure what the letter contained, and if it was anything like the last note she had been given by Regina, she was pretty sure she didn't want to know…. But maybe it wasn't like that note? Maybe it was… She didn't know what it could be, so she opened it up, and began to read:

_My Dearest Emma,_

_Long ago, I believed that Daniel was my only true love. That he was my destiny and that I was going to be miserable until the day I died due to losing him, but then I met you._

_You came marching up my sidewalk with Henry by your side, and instantly I was infatuated with you. That had never happened to me before. Not even with Daniel. I was terrified to get to know you, but when I did, I fell harder and harder. When I saw the way you and Henry bonded so quickly, I'll admit that I was jealous… But not just of you... I was jealous of him too because he got to hug you, and I didn't._

_I never knew the meaning of true love until I met you, now I know that love is an untamed force. I know that love isn't a weakness, it is a strength. Love is all consuming and marvelous, and I know that now because of you._

_I feel like everything in my life has led me to you. My heart break, my tirade as the Evil Queen (which I do feel terrible about every day), and my choice to adopt Henry. And now, whenever we're together, my past seems worth it. Because if I had done one thing differently, I might not have met you. You changed my life without even trying, and I don't think that I could ever express how much you mean to me. I can't imagine what things would be like if I hadn't met you._

_Finding a person that you love and that loves you back is an utterly amazing feeling, and that is what I had with Daniel, but finding a soul mate… Someone that can understand you in the most intimate, complicated and embarrassing ways but still chooses to love you anyway is the best feeling out there._

_Some people say that nothing lasts forever, but you, my darling… You make me believe differently. You make me believe that love can live on longer than life. Every time I look at you, I can feel happy. Every time I see you I feel the love for you that has consumed every inch of my body. The kind that makes my toes curl. The kind of love that flows through my veins. I feel myself blush from having so many powerful emotions running flagrant through me every time I see you. I feel the kind of love that makes me want to scream all my insecurities, and fears out, so they have no way of finding their way back to us. The kind of love that makes me glad to be alive every time someone says your name. The kind of love that takes my breath away every time you speak about our love with your angelic voice. Every time I look at you I think to myself. "So this is how love I supposed to feel." Every time we touch, my skin tingles, my soul sets itself afire with passion, and my heart feels like it is about to jump out of my chest. Every time you smile at me, my stomach fills with butterflies, and I lose my breath. So, thank you. Thank you for making me remember what butterflies feel like._

_I love you for all of these reasons, and so_ many _more. I love you because it is impossible for me not to love you. I love you without challenge, without calculation, without hesitation. I love you faithfully, with all my heart and soul. I love you because I can trust you without pause. You could hold a knife to my throat, and I would smile and continue with life as usual while you held it there because my trust for you is so absolute._

_I know that I have been acting skittish, and have been neglecting you; for that, I plan to make up for tonight. Please meet me at the meadow where I took you for our first picnic. Dress casual and comfy. I love you, and I promise I'll be better from now on._

_Yours Forever,_

_Regina_

Emma was fighting back her tears as she finished the note. She had to find Regina. She had to see if the love that she had written in this letter was actually for her. How could it be though? How could it be the love Regina felt for Emma when that letter, those fights, they all pointed to Regina hating her?

She had to know for certain, and the only way to do that was by talking to her face to face. She went to her computer, took out her phone and with the phone tracking software she used as a bail bondsman, she pinged Regina's phone and began to search for its location. She was shocked to see that it was right there at a Hotel in Tallahassee.

**XXX**

Regina had spent the last month in Tallahassee hoping that she might happen to run into Emma on the street somewhere, she knew it could happen, it was unlikely, but still entirely possible. She had spent the last month being miserable, she even tried a pilates class, meditation, and yoga, and still, nothing could distract her from the pain that had crawled its way into Regina's heart and manifested itself into her soul. She'd toured everything that could be toured; she'd tried jet skiing, she even went to a roller derby.

Nothing had helped.

She still missed Emma. She still cried herself to sleep every night. She still thought about her blonde every minute of every hour of every fucking day. She still felt empty, and that void that Emma had left was bigger than just her heart was… It was like Emma didn't just leave with a piece of her heart, but like she had taken every vital organ, and just left her heart in shambles instead. Nothing could fix that. Nothing could make her smile. Nothing, and no one.

No one except Emma.

She sighed. Emma was never coming back. Regina had fucked up too severely for that ever to happen. Instead, Regina would die in this stupid town, in this stupid state, in this stupid, boring hotel room, just hoping to be able to run into her ex-girlfriend once in awhile…. Which was incredibly unlikely to ever happen, and entirely pathetic. She began to cry.

 _Her_  Emma was in love with someone else now. That thought just made her want to die. The sight of Emma kissing someone else forever scarred into her mind, causing her to want to scream out in agony. That sight was gut wrenching. No one should be touching Emma like that except Regina.

Why had she gotten drunk that night? Why couldn't she have just sucked it up, and gotten over herself? Why couldn't she have just told Emma how she felt soone-... Her repeated inner monolog was interrupted by a rap at her hotel door.

She furrowed her brows, got up, and opened the door. When the door was open, and she saw who was on the other side, her heart beat quickened, and she felt her knees give out as she began to bawl her eyes out. _Emma._

When her knees gave out she thought for sure that she'd hit the floor, but instead strong, thin arms caught her just in the nick of time. "E-Emma, I'm so s-sorry. Please, please forgive me. Leave Lily. Choose me instead. I swear I'll be better. I promise that I will do whatever it takes to make you love me again. Please, Emmy Bear, please."

Emma picked Regina up and carried her to the chair in the living area of the hotel room. She sat Regina down in the armchair and sat herself down on the couch. Regina immediately realized that this was her last chance to prove to Emma that Regina never meant any of the awful things she had written in that godforsaken note.

She was just about to speak when Emma began to. "I read the letter."

Regina bowed her head as she fought back the tears. Why did Emma feel the need to state the obvious? Of course, she had read the letter, that's why she was here in the first place. She began to speak with a shaky voice as she fought the tears. "I know, Emma. I know, and I'm so sorry. I know that I should've said it sooner, but I am. I'm so fucking sorry. I was drunk, and when I realized what I had done, I threw it somewhere that no one should have found it. But while I was writing the letter that **was** meant for you, you came walking in, and I had to quickly hide it, which was why I hid it in the bottom left drawer..because no one is allowed in it. I swear, I never, ever, ever planned to send that horrible letter to you. I know you probably threw out that second letter, and I can't blame you. The things I said in it were absolutely abhorrent and just plain loathsome. I'm so sorry." She whimpered the last sentence as the crying began to overwhelm her.

Emma's face softened. Maybe Regina did love her. "R'gina... Why did you come to Tallahassee?"

"I haven't been home in three months. The first seven weeks and six days were spent searching for you. About seven weeks and four days in it I was on my way to Phoenix from Makato, so I stopped at a hotel in Kit Carson, and showed people there a picture of you and asked them if they saw you."

Emma paled. "You ran into Linda."

Regina frowned… She didn't want to know that bitch's name… but she had no reason to be jealous… Emma wasn't hers, no matter how bad Regina wished it wasn't true. "Yes, if that's the bartender's name. She told me that you had planned on going to Phoenix to visit an old friend, and then planned to go to the place where you had first intended to start a family with Neal… So I put the pieces together. I knew that it was unlikely to see you here, but here we are anyway. Just like it was unlikely that I would ever find you at all, or that I would find someone who had run into you, but I did. Because the universe wants us together, so they're pushing us along, but the universe can want that until it's blue in the face… it's up to you to decide, and God help me I want you to want me… I will do whatever it takes, just please, Emma… please forgive me."

"I read the letter, Regina," Emma said calmly this time.

Regina's heart broke. Why did Emma keep bringing it up? Why had she even come here if this was what she had planned to do? "I know." She whispered in heartache as the tears began to fall faster.

Emma shook her head. "No, Regina. You aren't listening. I read the letter you handed to me at Lily's…"

Regina perked up, staring at Emma with a hope she had thought she had lost forever. "You d-did?" She asked through tears.

Emma nodded. "I did."

"Wh-what does that mean?" Regina asked tentatively.

"It means.." Emma sighed. "It means that I came here to see if what you said is true."

Regina jumped off the chair and ran over to Emma and kneeled in front of her. "Emma. Baby, look at me." Emma looked at Regina, and when she met her eyes, Regina continued. "I love you, and I know I was treating you bad for the last few weeks, but I had been stressed, and nervous, and I just wanted everything to be perfect for us. I love you, and the things in that letter were that of a raging alcoholic. I never wanted to hurt you. Not really, I just was furious. I'm so sorry. Please, Emma. Leave Lily. Be mine again. I can't be happy without you." She whimpered.

Emma grabbed Regina's face gently with her palms and Regina felt an intense tingle in her stomach. Her hope was growing, and she was terrified of what the blonde was about to say. "Emma?" The brunette's voice cracked with emotion.

Emma smiled. "Regina."

Regina gulped. "I love you." She barely whispered.

Emma's smile grew larger. "I love you too."


	6. Chapter 6

"Really?" the mayor asked apprehensively, and half smiled when the blonde nodded in the affirmative.

Regina was ecstatic, but she refused to get her hopes up. Emma might love her, but she could still choose to stay with Lily. So she decided to bite the bullet and ask the question that could either make her dreams come true or destroy her entirely for the rest of her life. "D-does that mean that you're going to leave Lily, and give me another chance? I understand if you don't I know it's probably hard to look at me and not think about those horrendous things I wrote, but-"

Regina was silenced by Emma's lips being pressed against her own. Her heart rate quickened as she melted into Emma's kiss. Emma kissed her and Regina's world fell away. It was slow and soft, comforting in ways that words would never be. The sheriff's hand rested below the mayor's ear, her thumb caressing her cheek as their breaths mingled, causing Regina to have to fight to remember how to breathe. Emma ran her fingers down Regina's spine, pulling the brunette closer until there was no space left between them and she could feel the beating of the former queen's heart against her chest.

Regina wanted to stay in that moment forever because she was terrified that this was the last kiss she would ever receive from the blonde. Terrified that when they separated Emma was going to tell her that she was in love with Lily now. That she wasn't what Emma wanted anymore. She whimpered into the kiss at the thought of losing the woman that she was tasting, and Emma must've mistaken it for something else because Emma jumped back with a worried look on her face that broke Regina's heart. "I'm not what you want. You can't even kiss me without feeling disgust… You just... You want me back for Henry's sake. Look, Regina, I'll come back. I miss the kid like crazy, and texting him every day, and calling once in awhile is fine, and all, but I miss him, Regina. I'll come back... You- You didn't have to do this… Why would you do this?" Emma was crying now. She felt betrayed, yet uncontrollably broken. This was what she knew would happen, why had she thought anything different? Regina was only doing this for Henry. She had only ever been with Emma, to keep Henry. The first note made that clear

Regina shook her head. Terrified that her whimper had cost her everything. "NO!" She practically yelled, startling the blonde that she was still knelt in front of. "Emma, Jesus no! I love you; I want to be with you. I _need you_! Everything in that second letter was true. I can't be happy without you. Henry may have been my saving grace once upon a time, and he still is my pride and joy, but he isn't my happy ending, and I am not his. He will grow up, and he will start a family, and he will have his happy ending, but you, you are mine. I will have to learn to live without him someday, and I know I can do that because he will always be my son, and he will alway be in my life, even if he hates me right now. But if I don't have you, if I can't be with you, and hold you, and kiss you, and some day make love to you, I will die inside. I need you to be mine, but if you can't, I understand. If you love Lily now, or if you're done with me, I understand, but that doesn't mean I like it. It means that I will let you be happy, even though I will die inside. I'm empty without you."

Emma stared into Regina's eyes, hoping and praying that her superpower would work, and she could tell if Regina was telling the truth, or if she was continuing to play some sick joke on her. She saw a terrified, and broken hearted woman staring back at her with hope and trepidation swirling in her dark brown eyes. She was about to speak when the brunette woman that owned her heart spoke again.

"Emma," Regina murmured somberly. "Please give me a chance. I'll prove my worthiness of you. I'll make it my life's mission to make sure that your smile never leaves your beautiful face. Just leave Lily… Come back to me, please." Regina was begging, and she hated it. She was a queen, but when it came to Emma, she was just the lovestruck mayor of an invisible town in Maine. She didn't care though, this woman was her happiness, and she'd fight to the death for her.

Emma was still crying, but this time it was because she believed her. She believed that Regina was in love with her, for real, and she couldn't be happier. So she finally spoke. "I was never with Lily, Regina. She only kissed me to piss you off for me. She saw that I didn't want you to see how heartbroken I was. So she did the only thing that she could think of and kissed me. She's my best friend, and she was just helping me out. Nothing is going on between us; nothing ever has happened between us besides friendship. SHe and I aren't together now, and we have never been. She and I share a condo, but we don't even see each other for days at a time, and when we have it's just a passing conversation as one of us is out the door. She's got her life, and I've got mine."

Regina felt her heart soar. _Maybe I do have a shot at winning her back after all._ She thought to herself, but she still needed to confirm her hopes and make sure there was no other competition. "S-so, there's no one else? Yo-you're single?"

Emma chuckled, causing Regina's heart to drop as the blonde shook her head. "Of course I'm not." Regina felt sick to her stomach.

"Oh." She whispered bleakly.

Emma continued to speak. "I have a beautiful, smart, hilarious, loyal girlfriend that I couldn't love more." Regina stifled back a sob. This wasn't what she had hoped for, but it's what she expected; she just hadn't thought Emma would be so cruel about it. "She's intimidating as hell to everyone I know except for me. She's snarky but in a sexy way. She always holds my hand when we walk down the street, even though some people have just never approved of us. We don't care though, we're happy, and they just don't matter. She's got beautiful brown eyes that I could drown in-" Regina looked up at the woman in awe. Emma Swan was describing her! Regina's smile slowly began to return as Emma grinned and continued to speak. "She drives me up the wall, but she brings me back down to the floor with her tenderness and compassion. She listens to me, loves me, takes care of me when I'm sick, and she makes me happier than I had ever dreamed of being. She takes care of our son and loves him the way no other person could, not even me. Most importantly, however, she drove over fifteen-hundred miles in search of me when I left because I thought that was what she wanted. And now she's here before me, knelt down at my feet because she loves me too much to dream of ever letting me go, and that is the most humbling honor I could have ever dreamt of owning."

Emma slid off the couch to straddle Regina's lap causing the brunette woman's breath to hitch. She wrapped her arms around Regina's shoulders and looked into the watery brown eyes that she loved. "It'll take some work to make this hurt completely go away." Emma started, and Regina nodded enthusiastically because this very much sounded like Emma was laying down terms for the renewal of their relationship. Terms which she didn't need to hear to agree to. She'd do anything to have Emma as her own once more. Emma pecked her on the lips and continued to talk. "So, it'll be a bit before things can become as stable as they were before, but we'll get there. We have gotten this far; I don't think we should ever let misunderstandings come between us. However, I would like for us to go to a counseling session or two, just to work out the kinks and make sure neither of us continues to believe anything in the first letter. Because if you feel even a fraction of what you said in that first letter, it'll destroy us later on down the road. I also know that I'm going to need help getting over the residual hurt from it, but once that's cleared up, I think that we will be stronger than ever. Are you okay with that?"

"Yes!" Regina exclaimed excitedly. "Yes! I am, but can you lay down the guidelines of how slow we are taking things? I don't want to do anything that'll make you uncomfortable, or screw this up."

Emma chuckled. "Well, I know that we've never gotten past second base because we both want our first time to be… special, but no touching under the clothes, and that should be the gist of it… Everything can be normal except that; I don't want to go too fast. After we are on better ground, we can, but I just want to take all precautions right now. This is too important to me to screw it up because we are acting like horny teenagers. Okay?"

Regina nodded. "Okay."

Emma smiled. "I'm so thankful that you came for me. I love you so much."

They kissed, and when they pulled away, Regina was smiling the brightest smile she had since the day she had planned to propose. "I would have gone to the depths of hell to find you, my love. I love you, with all that I am and with all that I will be. You are worth it, and I shouldn't have written that letter. I shouldn't have even been angry with you, I deserved you cutting down my tree, it was just so sexy, and I was so pissed at myself for loving you when I thought that you were supposed to be my enemy, but I couldn't hate you, not really. I feared you, sure. I feared you because you were getting to me in ways that none other ever had and because I thought you were going to take Henry away from me, which you could have successfully done if not for your golden heart. I love you, Emma Swan, and I want nothing more than to take you back home, and work on our relationship."

Emma felt joyful tears flood her eyes, she wiped them from her face, stood up, and offered Regina her hand to help her up. When Regina took the offered hand and stood up in front of the blonde, Emma pulled her into another passionate kiss. "Let's go get my things, and hit the road; we've got a lot to clean up."

Regina felt her heart skyrocket from joy. Happiness flowed through her, warming her skin like the rays of an early summer sun. Her customary cautious grin exploded into a radiant smile that she had never worn before, not even as a small girl. Everything was going to be alright now, she had Emma and Emma had her. They were a team. It was a perfect start, a perfect day and Emma was her perfect match, her soulmate, and she couldn't be happier. Sure Emma snored sometimes, she spoke with her mouthful often, and sometimes found it hard to communicate her feelings properly; but for Regina, there could never be another.


	7. Chapter 7

As soon as the couple reached the condo, they noticed that Lily had just arrived home, so Emma and Regina prepared to tell Lily the news.

"Hey, Lil'... Can we talk?" Emma asked cautiously.

Lily turned around to see Regina standing at Emma's side and rolled her eyes. "You got back together, and you're leaving?" She said with a bored tone.

"W-well, yes," Emma said.

Lily nodded. "Fine, that's fine. I expected it, unfortunately. But don't let her make you think for a second that any of this was your fault, Emma. Anyone who would try to say that it was is stupid and needs mental help. She treated you like trash for the last four weeks of your relationship, so you already had doubts, and insecurities from that. Not to mention the childhood we had that made us believe that all we were capable of being was a temporary placement in someone's life. SO when you read that letter from her, you would obviously think it to be true, it made perfect sense for the way she had been treating you. So you had no reason to think about talking to her about it. From what you told me she made it pretty clear that she wanted you to leave without making yourself known, and that's what you did. You are NOT AT FAULT. Okay, sweetie?"

Emma smiled weakly and nodded. "I know, Lily. Thank you, I wasn't going to let anyone tell me that it was, and I know Regina wasn't going to either. It was just a stupid and costly misunderstanding."

Regina spoke up at this point. "I never meant anything I said in that note, and I'm hoping that soon enough, everyone will realize that."

Emma squeezed Regina's hand and looked at her reassuringly. "We'll make them understand it together."

Regina smiled an appreciative smile and followed Emma to her bedroom to help her pack.

When they finished packing, Emma gave Lily a hug goodbye and asked her to visit them sometime. Lily agreed, and they bid each other a farewell.

"Bye, Loser," Lily said with a playful smirk.

Emma chuckled and shook her head. "I sure am going to miss your insults."

Lily smiled and hugged Emma one last time. When the embrace ended, she turned to face Regina and outstretched her hand. Shocked, Regina shook it. "Take care of her, Regina. She's one hell of a person, and she's my best friend. Just make her happy."

Regina smiled gratefully. "I fully intend to." She said confidently.

**XXX**

They reached the parking garage together, and Regina slipped into the passenger seat of the bug. She saw Emma's confused expression and chuckled. "I can just magic myself a new car, dear. Mine is getting pretty old anyway."

Emma chuckled and shook her head amusedly before buckling up, and beginning their long home. They figured out together that it'd take about four days to get home if they stopped at a hotel after driving ten and a half hours every day.

**XXX**

After four long days of traveling, the newly reunited couple crossed the town line of Storybrooke Maine. The first thing they wanted to do was go straight to bed, but they both knew that they needed to face Henry and the Charmings, so they headed straight for the loft.

As soon as the y reached the green door, Emma swung it open to find her son, parents, and little brother all together at the dinner table eating in silence. Snow looked over to see her beloved daughter and beamed as she jolted from her seat and ran towards her little girl. "EMMA!" She screamed gleefully as she encased the young blonde in her arms.

Emma smiled and tightened the hug she had on her mother as the rest of her family ran towards her as well. "We were so scared we'd never see you again. Are you okay? We missed you so much." David declared.

"I'm okay. I'm here now, I just… Let that letter get to my insecurities. I'm not going anywhere again."

"I missed you so much, Ma. Please don't ever leave again." Her son said as he tightened his grasp on his birth mother when his grandparents released her.

Emma knelt down to eye level with her son and looked at him seriously. "I promise that I'm never leaving you again. Okay? I missed you so much, kid. I missed you all so much."

Henry, SNow, and David all smiled at her until they saw the brunette behind her. "You can leave now, Regina," David said coldly.

Regina frowned, but she knew that this would be their reaction, it just hurt seeing her son, and friends so angry with her. "I-"

"No," Emma said sternly. She grabbed Regina's hand and continued to explain. "She's not going anywhere. She and I talked everything out, that note was never meant to be seen by me. She wrote it years ago before we were even friends. When she was drunk and upset. She immediately regretted it and hid it where she thought it would never be found. She, unfortunately, grabbed that one instead of the one she actually meant to give to me." She said while holding up the envelope that contained the _correct_ letter.

Regina was in awe. Emma was standing up for her to her parents, and although it was an ordinary thing for the blonde to do, she felt that this time she would've let it slide because she kind of deserved it. She swore she was about to get down on one knee and just propose right then, but she didn't she knew that Emma had to do this, not only to feel secure in their relationship but to make sure no one would try to break them up in the long run. THe fact that Emma was still so in love with her, though, made her heart melt just a little.

David furrowed his brow. "You can't possibly believe this."

"I can, and I do," Emma said firmly.

Henry looked at Regina with a shameful expression. "I'm so sorry, mom. I should've believed you."

Regina's heart soared, and she felt a huge weight lifted off of her shoulder as her son ran into her open arms and wrapped her in a bear hug. She sighed as she returned the hug just as vigorously.

Snow scoffed. "Well, even if that is true, she should still apologize to the entire town for causing us to be savior-less for over three months!"

Emma was about to shut her mother's notion down, but Regina didn't give her a chance to, she knew how much the blonde wanted her parent's to be okay with their relationship, so she would do this for her. Emma might not approve, but if it got her girlfriend's parents off of her back, then Regina would do it. She had a plan anyway. "If I do this, will you all forgive me and give me another chance to be with your daughter?" She asked.

The charmings shared a glance and then nodded in unison.

Regina smirked. She'd give them an apology, but she would also propose. "Fine. Give Emma and I a month to work through the rest of the residual insecurities from the letter mix up, and then I will address the town. Is that fair?"

The idiot parents nodded once more, "I will schedule a town meeting a month from today. Do not be late."

Regina smirked. _Trust me, dear. You'll wish you'd just kept your mouth shut._ Regina thought to herself.

As soon as Henry was in bed at the mansion, Regina and Emma cuddled on the couch sharing some Apple Cider.

"Sweetheart, you know you don't have to do this right? The only people that matter in this situation are you, Henry and me." Emma spoke.

Regina smiled. "I know, darling. Trust me; I've thought this through. This is the only way your idiot parents will ever find me worthy of you again, and the only way they will accept that you are with me without making you miserable every time you're alone with them."

"I just don't like this. I feel like we should just ignore them. Please, baby. You don't have to embarrass yourself like this."

Regina felt her heart start beating rapidly in her chest. Just the fact that Emma didn't want her to be uncomfortable, that Emma still cared about her made her drunk with joy.

"Anything that can lead to the possibility of us being able to be together happily could never embarrass me, my love. I love you more than anything." She said earnestly.

Emma smiled widely at her girlfriend, then leaned down to connect their lips together in a passionate kiss. "I love you too, Regina. I love you more than you could ever imagine. I just hope you know that. Just know this, though. If you ever feel like changing your mind about making that ridiculous apology, it's okay. I don't like that my mother even thought about it, let alone demanded it. You didn't do anything on purpose, to begin with."

Regina felt tears of joy run down her flushed cheeks. _How did I get so lucky?_

**XXX**

It had been a month since their return to Storybrooke, and Regina was standing alone in her office preparing to do her 'apology speech'.

The past month had been successful at rekindling Regina and Emma's romance. Not only had they forgotten all about the note over a week ago, but they'd also started going to second base again. There seemed to be nothing different about their current relationship than when they had been happily together before everything went to hell, so Regina was confident that she would get the reaction out of Emma that she was hoping for.

When she exited her office and went to the meeting hall, she felt her nerves kick in, but she shook it off and entered the room. The room was full of laughter and chatter until they noticed their Mayor enter the room. As soon as they saw her, their mouths shut, and their eyes focused on her. Regina took a deep breath and began her speech.

"As most of you know, your sheriff, Emma Swan and I have been together for over three years, and about four months ago an incident happened that caused her to leave the town for about three months. I found her, and we fixed the misunderstanding, but I just wanted you all to know that I am sorry." She said in a flat tone because this apology was just an excuse to have everyone watch what she was about to do.

She turned toward Emma and spoke to her. "Emma, can you come up here please?"

Emma furrowed her brows but did as requested. Regina couldn't help but feel the butterflies fill her stomach as Emma inched closer and closer towards her with every step. When Emma was standing in front of Regina, the brunette woman grabbed the Sheriff's hands and began the speech she had rehearsed over and over again for the past six months.

"Emma, I love you with every fiber of my being. You've made my dark heart turn into one that is purer than I ever thought possible. You've completed me and made me feel loved. So thank you. Thank you for giving me your love. Thank you for accepting my heart, and trusting me with your own. Thank you for protecting me, looking out for me, and loving me when I couldn't even love myself. Thank you for walking beside me and for wanting to be there. Thank you for thinking of me and always occupying my thoughts. Thank you for making me smile.

I know that I am not the easiest person to get close to, so it was quite honestly a miracle that I can't even begin to pretend to understand when you busted down my walls brick by brick, but you did, and I am so thankful for it." Regina had to pause because her voice was beginning to quiver too much to be able to be understood. Emma smiled through her tears and was about to speak, so Regina shook her head with a smile, cleared her throat, and began to speak again.

"Do you know what I want most in this world?" She asked the blonde.

Emma thought for a second but shook her head no.

Regina smiled and began to speak. " I want you. I want your adorable confused look when you wake up in the morning, and you're still sleepy. I want to be the warmth that fills the space in your bed. I want to hug you every day and kiss you every hour. I want to sleep every night next to you and wake up every morning to your beautiful sleeping face. I want to play with your hair. I want to laugh with you until we both are fighting for air. I want to go on crazy adventures with you during the day, and then just to lie on the sofa cuddled up next to you that night.

I want all of my days filled with you, and I want to continue seeing you. Not just at your strongest, but at your weakest too. I want to be there for you when it all seems too much. I want to be the voice that gives you hope. I want to help you fight for your dreams and watch with you as they finally become a reality." Regina continued to hold one of Emma's hands as she knelt down before her and pulled out a ring. She looked back up at the blonde as she opened it and watched the shock and awe spread across Emma's face."I want to grow old with you because when I'm not with you, all I do is think about you. When I think about you, all I want to do is be with you, and when I'm finally with you, it's like all of my dreams have come true.

Emma, I can guarantee that there'll be hard times, but I can also guarantee you that I'll be by your side through all of them. If I've learned one thing by watching the other married couples around this town, it's that you don't marry someone that you could live with. You marry the person that you can't live without, and you're that person for me.

So, Emma Swan, would you do me an extraordinary honor, and marry me?" There was a few second pause before Emma answered that made Regina feel like she was going to pass out from fear, but when she heard Emma's answer, it evaporated into nothing but exuberance.

"Yes!"

**Author's Note:**

> Just to warn the Anti-Emma association. This is not one of those fics, nor is it an Anti-Regina Fic. If you expect the blame to be shared in this story, you should just stop reading now. I am only going to blame the person who is actually at fault, here. I'm getting so sick of these people who expect it to be all shared when only one person is truly to blame, now, I'm not going to tell you who it is that I believe to be at fault right here, but if you would have a problem with that then please stop reading. I love swan queen, but the amount of hatred in the fandom has escalated to the highest I've ever seen since the end of season six. I don't play favorites between the two women, whoever screws up in my fics, has to suffer the consequences, whether it be Emma, Regina, or anyone else.
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> With all that said, I do hope you enjoy because I put my heart into this Fic so that people would enjoy it.
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> Thank you,  
> SnapeLover12102016


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